ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — A year after a fire at the BioLab facility in Rockdale County released toxic chemicals into the air, residents are still waiting for accountability and dealing with the aftermath.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna was live outside the facility for Channel 2 Action News at 5:00.
The fire at the BioLab plant left the building in a toxic state, forcing the owner to abandon it permanently.
Residents like Chris Lovejoy and Tiffani Howard continue to experience the effects, with Lovejoy losing more than $1 million in equipment and Howard facing increased breathing issues.
“All the wheel hubs and stuff. It looks like we’ve been parked in salt water,” said Lovejoy, the CEO of Lovejoy Enterprises.
A year later, the results of a chemical-laced plume sit rusting on his property.
“We lost 22 vehicles, um, probably well over $1 million worth of equipment,” Lovejoy said.
For Lovejoy, the fire one year ago was just the beginning.
His disaster relief business dealt with a catastrophe of its own, forcing him to dip into retirement savings to keep his business alive.
“We pulled a lot of, a lot, a little miracles out of our backside,” Lovejoy said.
He isn’t alone.
“Reliving it, knowing what we’re still struggling through, knowing how it’s still impacting me today,” Howard said.
She says she remembers how the smoke forced her and 90,000 others to shelter in place. Now she says she feels the effects with every breath.
“I have increased issues with my breathing. I lose my voice now so much,” she said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined BioLab more than $60,000 for a half dozen infractions, and a federal investigation found that at the time of the fire, the building had twice the amount of reactive materials than the company reported to Rockdale for permitting purposes.
“Oh, yes. They need to go,” Howard said.
For residents, many are waiting on lawsuits and want to see the company out of Rockdale and for them to be made whole.
“If they don’t do it one way, then I guess, well, let the lawyers try and, you know, make them do it the right way,” Lovejoy said.
Now, BioLab says it’s priority has always been public health and safety, and that it finished the site’s remediation back in May. It will no longer be making products here.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
PREVIOUS STORIES:
- BioLab contests inspection reports on Rockdale Co. chemical plant
- BioLab to close Rockdale County facility at center of chemical fire
- ‘Treat it more seriously:’ Rockdale County man says BioLab fire made him sick
- Residents of Rockdale County demand answers after BioLab chemical fire
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
